


it's just a little thing

by Juliet_Lemming98



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DCU (Comics), Green Arrow (Comics)
Genre: ABDL, Abuse, Age Play, Alternate Universe, Angst, Daddy Kink, Daddy!John, Daddy!Oliver, F/M, Infantilism, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Slow Burn, Threesome - F/M/M, daddy - Freeform, little!felicity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-20 09:13:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16134191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juliet_Lemming98/pseuds/Juliet_Lemming98
Summary: As far as Oliver and John know, Felicity and Cooper are perfect for each other- a Daddy/little match made in heaven :) It's only when Felicity falls into littlespace in Arrow HQ when everything starts to unravel.Eventual Daddy!Oliver/Daddy!John/Little!Felicity . Angst and fluff :)





	1. unravel

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone who knows me knows that I update sporadically at best, however I have at least three chapters of this planned out, so hopefully this will actually be completed.

It had been a long night.

Felicity’s brain was feeling more than a little scrambled- six hours of staring at a computer screen had never done anyone’s eyes any good, and here she was, at four a.m., waiting for the Count to make his next move.

‘Any movement, Felicity?’ came Oliver’s voice through the comms. She touched her ear, a reflex, and responded;

‘Nothing yet, Oliver. Maybe he’s not going to show tonight- you know how he-‘

She stopped abruptly.

‘East door. Six men, armed. One of them could be the Count. Running facial recognition now.’

Diggle moved from his seat next to Felicity and spoke; ‘I’m on my way Oliver, you need backup for this one.’

Felicity rubbed her eyes and pushed her hair from out of her face.

‘False alarm.’ She breathed out a sigh. ‘It’s just some hired muscle- probably here to protect the vertigo production line.’

She felt John lean over her to look at the screens.

‘She’s right, Oliver. Looks like a bunch of low-lifes. Nothing special.’

Oliver made a frustrated noise through his earpiece.

‘When is this guy going to show his face? He’s been hiding underground for almost a month, churning out vertigo as fast as people can buy it.’

No one answered his clearly rhetorical question, which seemed to annoy him further.

‘I’m going to do some recon. Only contact me if you have something urgent.’

He abruptly switched off his mic, plunging the room into silence.

 

 

 

John spoke first; ‘Felicity, he’s just feeling frustrated. Two months of nothing, then suddenly the Count resurfaces. It’s not your fault.’

Her nose burned with tears. ‘I know, it’s just difficult when he does… _this_.’

Diggle rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, and she leaned into him, rubbing her eyes again. He gave her a small kiss on her temple and she sat back up again, staring at the screen, absent-mindedly biting a pen.

He laughed a little. ‘Are you sure that’s the best thing to be eating, Felicity?’ He gently pulled the pen from her lips.

 

Turning and smiling, she said; ‘Trust me, there’s definitely other things I want in my mouth right now. …I mean.. not like a.. I mean more like a.. I just want my…’ she blushed. ‘I’m going to stop talking now.’

Diggle laughed again. ‘it’s okay, Felicity. There’s probably a paci around here somewhere…’ He stood up and looked through the drawers underneath the desk, before handing out a yellow pacifier to Felicity, which made her cheeks go even redder.

‘I’m not.. I..I don’t need that right now, John.’ She refused to make eye contact with the man, and instead busied herself with something on her screen. She typed, and scrolled, whilst managing to not really do anything at all.

‘Fe-li-ci-ty. You’re allowed to be a badass hacker-‘

‘I hate that word.’

‘-a badass hacker _and_ be a little.’

Flinching a little, Feliticy turned to look at John.

‘I know, okay, Dig? I am a… a little, and a badass _computer techie_ , but that does not mean I need a pacifier right now. What I need is to help Oliver take down the Count, and a paci is not going to help me do that.’ She pulled down the sleeves of her sweater and played with the cuffs.

 

 

 

Diggle silently left the pacifier on the desk. He went to go make himself another coffee, because this night didn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, and made a hot chocolate for Felicity.

He put her mug down next to his, with a gentle ‘careful, it’s hot’ that earned him a derisive snort, and sat down next to Felicity, who was now biting her nails. He sighed and looked at the screen.

‘Look, if you’re feeling little, it’s okay, Felicity. I can call Cooper and he can come and pick you up and-‘

‘You are _not_ calling Cooper right now, John.’ She squared up to face him. ‘Yes, I am a little _and_ a badass computer techie, simultaneously! But. I am not feeling little right now. I am tired and want this to be over so I can go home and sleep. So. Please turn off your dominant spidey-senses and _let me do my job_.’ 

Turning to the screen, she gasped. The Count had his face against their hidden (or not so hidden, now) camera.

 

He spoke in his usual snarling voice, his eyes wide and rolling, his face distorted and grimaced.

‘Well, well, well. What do we have here? Someone spying on me? Whoever is watching, know this; Expect a visit. I’m coming for you.’ He stopped to laugh for a moment.

‘Oh, and tell the Arrow I’m not interested in another playdate with him.’

He ripped the camera from the wall, and the feed turned into static.

‘Oliver? The Count is here. He just disabled our camera. Hacking traffic and security surveillance now.’

Oliver replied, his voice low and full of anger. ‘I’m on it.’

 

Typing furiously, Felicity pulled up local feeds, searching for any trace of the crazed man.

‘He’s heading north up Main Street. Take the shortcut through the alley and you’ll come out next to him at the crossroad.’

‘Roger that.’

The Count’s words kept ringing through Felicity’s head.

_What do we have here?_

‘Oliver, he’s taken a right onto Greendon.’

_Someone spying on me?_

‘In a black Mercedes.’

_Expect a visit._

‘Registration is-‘

_I’m coming for you._

_I’m. Coming. For. You._

 

 

Felicity froze. Her fingers stopped typing, she stopped breathing and her only movement was a slight tremor.

John snapped into action.

‘Felicity, what is it? What’s wrong?”

Oliver’s impatient voice came through the comms. ‘What is the registration? There’s a hundred black Mercedes’ on this road! Felicity!’

Hearing her name forced her to take a breath that rattled through her lungs and filled her whole body.

‘I… I don’t know… Wait…’

She began to comb through the footage before realising Oliver was right. There were dozens of the same type of car on the road, all with the same number plate.

‘He’s done something, wait…’

Oliver was shouting now. ‘Felicity! Now! I need it now!’

Felicity began to crumble, hot tears spilling down her cheeks.

‘I… I can’t find him… I don’t know where he is!’ She pushed her chair away from the desk as John tried to reach over to her. Felicity hunched herself into a ball, breathing heavily.

‘Felicity, honey, what’s going-‘

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-‘ it was like a mantra, saying it over and over until it seemed to lose meaning. Diggle put his arms around her and squeezed tightly; ’It’s okay, you’re fine, you’re safe, shhhh.’

‘What is going on?!’ shouted Oliver from over the comms, and Felicity whimpered.

Diggle hoisted Felicity onto his hips, and carried her back to the desk. He spoke into the mic;

‘It’s over, man, we lost this one. It’s done.’

‘It’s not over, Dig! We can-‘

John turned off the comms and turned his attention to the little in his arms, _sshhing_ and rocking her a little as she cried.

‘Felicity it’s okay, here take your paci-‘ He placed the yellow pacifier in her mouth and she began to suck gently ‘and we’ll call Cooper, okay? He can come pick you up-‘ She began to cry and spoke around her pacifier;

‘No, stay here, please.’

Sighing, John smoothed her hair down and touched noses with Felicity.

‘Felicity, honey, you should get home, have a bottle, put some pyjamas on and go to bed with your Daddy, okay? I think that’s what you need right now.’

The crying intensified; ‘No, John, no!’

He winced and kissed her head, rubbing circles into her back.

‘Okay, _shh_ , honey. You can stay here a little while, okay?”

The crying lessened.

 

 

He sat them both down on a green beanbag that Felicity had brought in at one time or another, and continued to stroke Felicity’s back and to kiss her head. It calmed her down, and she was left curled around John, paci moving lazily in her mouth.

It only takes a hug and a paci to knock them out, John thought to himself- Felicity was asleep, or very nearly there. He left her sleeping and went to go make up a bottle for her to drink before he called Cooper. Despite what he had promised the sleeping Felicity, he had to respect the code of letting another Daddy know when their little was having a rough time.

Felicity was settling into an uneasy sleep, full of dreams of Cooper.

_‘I never did want you, Felicity, you worthless-‘_

_‘Crying again? You little piece of-‘_

_‘Why can’t you just_ go away _, Felicity?’_

_‘Felicity!’_

 

She woke up with a start- someone was calling her name. The pacifier flew from her mouth as she gasped in shock, and she took in the sight in front of her; Oliver, head to toe in green leather, his quiver full and his bow at his side.

‘Oliver, I can explain-’

He stalked over to her, his face full of anger.

‘Can you, Felicity? Why you let the Count get away? Why he is still walking free in my city?’

Breathing heavily, he pushed his face against Felicity’s;

‘The blood will be on your hands the next time someone ODs on vertigo.’

Scrambling back from Oliver and his wrath, Felicity stumbled up onto her feet, tears running down her face.

‘I know I messed up tonight. And I don’t need to be reminded how useless I am, okay?’

She pulled out her cellphone to call a cab home, and ran up the stairs of the foundry.

 

 

‘What the hell is all this noise? She’s sleeping!-’ John burst in, gun in his hand.

Oliver stood motionless.

‘She’s gone, Dig.’

‘What? Why?’ Diggle came to stand next to Oliver, and spied the yellow pacifier on the floor.

‘Oliver, what did you do? When I left, Felicity was sleeping _here_ -‘ he gestured to the beanbag, ‘-and had _this_.’ He thrust the pacifier angrily in Oliver’s face.

‘Now tell me, what did you do?’

 

‘I… I made her cry.’

Oliver sat down on the floor with a thump and put his head in his hands. He looked up at John wearily.

‘I didn’t know she was little, I was just so _angry_ and-‘

‘That’s exactly your problem, man.’ Diggle’s eyes flashed angrily. ‘You’re always angry with someone. Try being a little bit more compassionate and try to remember that we’re not all doms. You have a little on your team. Stop acting like an ass.’ He looked at Oliver, disdain on his face.

‘Dig, I didn’t realise-‘

‘She had a goddamned pacifier in her mouth, Oliver!’ John was shouting now, and squared up to Oliver, who stood up to face Diggle.

‘Did you even look at her before you started shouting? Or did you see she was little, and do it anyway? Because that wouldn’t surprise me right now.’

The two men were nose to nose, both daring the other to make another move. Instead of pulling a punch, like John expected him to do, Oliver wilted like a flower, once again returning to sit on the floor.

‘I messed this up.’ He said slowly.

‘Yeah, you did. You gonna go after her and apologise?’ Diggle demanded.

The blond sighed and shook his head. ‘She called Cooper already- I heard her say she needed a lift from the club. And if she’s feeling little, the last person she’s gonna wanna see is me.’

Watching Oliver with an even gaze, Diggle replied; ‘The first good idea you’ve had today.’ He offered him a hand up. ‘C’mon, lets go home, Oliver. There’s nothing more you can do tonight- and Felicity is in bed with milk and a story. I’m not bothered about having a bottle, but I could sure use some sleep.’


	2. worthless

{ five weeks ago }

 

‘Goodnight, Felicity.’

 

Cooper waved as he turned off the light in Felicity’s playroom, leaving the little in her bed, smiling, with a bottle of warm milk and her beloved stuffed toy, Pinkie (Not the most imaginative of names, sure, but she had been in the headspace of a three-year-old when she’d named it).

Felicity pulled Pinkie close to her, the darkness a little _too dark_ for her, with only her star-shaped fairy lights illuminating the room. She sucked quickly on her bottle, the warm milk making her drowsy, and searched her bed for a pacifier, finding her purple one under her pillow.

Then she froze.

Something was moving by the foot of her bed. She couldn’t make out what it was, but an indistinct shape was huddled on her floor- and Felicity did what any self-respecting little would do:

‘Daddy! Help!’

And she threw her blanket over herself.

 

‘Angel, what is it?’ She heard Cooper walk over to her bed and sit down next to her. Felicity poked her head out from under the covers. Pointing gingerly to the foot of her bed, she whispered: ‘

There’s something there, I can see it!’ She let out a little whimper, and Cooper sshhed her a little, kissed her head and went to investigate.

‘Careful, Daddy! Monster!’ Cooper chuckled and picked up Felicity’s dark blue sweater off of her chair.

‘Scary monster, huh, sweetie?’

Felicity blushed pink and hid her face with her hands.

‘I’m sorry, I thought it was a monster!’ She began to disappear under the covers again until Cooper pulled back the blankets to give her a kiss and a hug.

‘No monsters, angel. Just your scary sweater, waiting on your chair to jump out at you.’ Laughing, he pulled his little onto his lap to stroke her head. Felicity mumbled something.

‘Can’t hear you, little one.’

‘I said, I’m sorry, I really thought it was a monster.’

She pulled on his hoodie, needing to fiddle with something. Cooper tugged it out from her busy hands;

‘Don’t pull, sweetie. You’ll stretch it and I won’t be able to wear it anymore.’

‘Sorry.’ She shrank back. Rationally she knew he was right, but she was sensitive when she was in headspace, and even something as small as what Cooper had said stung.

He ruffled her hair. ‘No more monsters in here, little one. I promise you’re safe.’

‘Kiss, Daddy?’ Felicity looked up at her dom, hoping for one last touch before she slept.

‘Of course, angel.’ He bent down and kissed her forehead.

‘Goodnight.’

‘Night, Daddy.’

 

{ half an hour later }

 

‘Daddy, help, monster!’

Felicity was curled under the covers, shaking, holding Pinkie and sucking hard on her paci.

No one came into the room.

The little was terrified. The monster had certainly heard her cry out, and was probably was about to pull her blanket off her and eat her and-

‘Felicity?’

She let out a scream of fear as Cooper pulled off the blanket. Shaking, she scrambled off of the bed and into his arms.

‘In the closet, Daddy! There’s a man there!’

Cooper sighed deeply and looked Felicity in the eyes.

‘There’s no-one there, Felicity. Promise.’

She shook her head and burrowed into the man’s shoulders. There was someone there, she had seen them! A fast-moving blur, probably a troll or a witch or something else equally evil.

Felicity began to cry as Cooper walked towards the closet with Felicity still in his arms.

‘Daddy, no! Stop!’ She struggled against his grip as he opened the door to find-

 

Nothing. Nothing except a pile of clothes Felicity had yet to fold.

She blinked, tears silently running down her face.

She didn’t understand. She’d seen someone, some _thing_ , run through her room and into her closet.

‘You see, Felicity? No monsters.’

‘But I saw him!’ She whimpered, shaking still. ‘Daddy, I promise he was there!’

Cooper raised his voice a little; ‘Felicity there are no monsters! Look! In the closet! Is there anything there?’

She shook her head.

‘Well, then. You know well that there are no such things as monsters, and especially not in your closet.’

He walked back to the bed and put Felicity down, but she struggled.

‘No, stay with you! Don’t leave me!’ She begged him, her tear-stained eyes red and wide-rimmed.

Cooper sighed. ‘You know Daddy is doing things right now. You can’t come out, okay?’

Felicity clung onto his arm. ‘Please, please, stay. Please, Daddy!’

 

Cooper thought of his friends waiting just in his living room, the boxes of beer and pizza sat on the table, and realised what was really important.

 

‘Sorry, Felicity. I’m busy. There’s nothing in your closet, now will you please go to sleep?’

He shut the door and plunged the room into near-darkness. Felicity whimpered and covered herself with her blanket. She grabbed Pinkie and held her close, and shut her eyes. Sleep never came easy to Felicity- insomnia’s a bitch- but it never came easily when she was scared.

Every noise was like a ninja come to find her. Every creak, a bogey-man lumbering out of the shadows. Every passing car light, an evil sorcerer come to turn her into a frog.

 

However, eventually, sleep did come, though it was not peaceful. She dreamt of the Arrow, and Diggle dying before her eyes, of Cooper lying upon a hill of bodies, of her own torture at the hands of one of the Arrow’s adversaries.

She woke with a shout.

Crying uncontrollably, she called out for her Daddy- but no one came.

She called for what seemed like forever until an angry Cooper appeared.

‘Felicity, what the hell is the matter? It’s four a.m.!’

The little was trembling in her bed and stammered as she tried to speak.

’N…Nightmare…’

He scoffed. ‘A nightmare? Call me when you have a real problem!’ pausing, he spoke again.

‘Actually, don’t. I want to be able to sleep.’

Still sniffling, Felicity cried out.

‘Please, Daddy! Don’t go!’

Cooper turned back to her.

‘Crying again? You little piece of shit. You always do this, you know. You get worked up over nothing and you blow everything out of proportion. I have a life too! I don’t want to be bothered with your closet-monsters and nightmares, right now, Felicity!’

He started to shout when she began to cry harder.

‘I never did want you, Felicity, you worthless little. It’s not even like you’ll fuck me when you’re little, so what’s the point of you? All you do is sit around and drink milk and _waste my time_! Why can’t you just _go away_ , Felicity?’

That made her stop crying.

‘Please, Daddy-‘

‘No. Not anymore. Find someone else who’ll put up with you being a clingy bitch all the time, because I’m done.’

Felicity thought that Cooper’s words stung more harshly than anything she’d ever felt- which was true until he pulled her from bed dragged her to his front door and dropped her on the pavement. He threw out her car keys, phone, and Pinkie and kicked her for good measure.

She lay on the ground, winded, until she picked herself up, put herself in her car, and shakily and slowly, drove back home.


	3. aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to post the initial plan for this fic once it's finished, if only to show you how much I changed my mind about what should happen! :)  
> This is only a little chapter, more to come...

{ now }

 

Felicity stumbled out of the foundry, trying to call a cab. Driving while little was never a good idea, and her spat with Oliver had her more confused and mixed up then she wanted to admit.

She had cried, in front of Oliver. She had been so so little in front of John.

Felicity wanted to cry, and she did until the cab pulled up outside and she clambered in unsteadily. She gave the driver her address and looked out the window to a rainy Starling City until she saw her windows. Telling the cab driver to keep the change, and braving the rain without an umbrella or coat- she’d not stopped to grab anything before running out- Felicity walked into her apartment building.

 

The elevator ride seemed longer than normal, and she couldn’t stop staring at herself reflected in the mirrored walls. Red, teary eyes and smudged lipstick. A real mess.

Using the spare key under her mat, Felicity let herself in and immediately collapsed on the sofa, pulling the knitted throw she kept there over her shivering body. Logically she knew that she couldn’t stay there forever, she at least should get into some dry clothes, but the comfy couch and warm blanket seemed to have a hold on her, and she fell asleep.

 

 

The clock read 5:06 when Felicity awoke, which had to be wrong- it felt like she’d been sleeping for hours, and not only a few minutes. But when she took in her situation- cold, wet clothes in a dark room- she knew, little or not, she should definitely get up.

 

First, Felicity went to her bedroom and got on her comfiest pyjamas, and tied her still damp hair back. Though the bed looked alluring, she could feel hunger cramping in her stomach and headed to the kitchen. However, days of working at Queen Consolidated and nights working with the Arrow meant that her fridge was pathetically depleted- a lone onion, some leftover Big Belly Burger that was _definitely_ unfit for human consumption and a gallon of milk half empty.

Felicity grabbed a saucepan to heat up the milk for a bottle and pulled out the formula powder to mix in. Every sound seemed magnified in her small kitchen, the clatter of the pan on the hob, the slosh of the milk, and the hiss of the gas.

 

The bottle had to be somewhere- it was probably hiding in a cabinet somewhere, just out of sight and out of reach. Felicity grabbed a chair to stand on to try and find a bottle on the highest shelf, but underestimated the height of the chair, and fell sideways.

‘Ow!’ she cried as she put out a hand to stop herself from hitting her head on the countertop. Her wrist made a horrible ‘crack’ and she bit her lip to stop herself from crying out louder.

Felicity poked her wrist and her vision went blurry. She tried to move her fingers, and she was pretty sure they were working fine- then again, she couldn’t really see them, so, who knew?

 

The milk was bubbling, certainly way too hot for a bottle, so she moved the saucepan to the countertop and switched off the flame while cradling her wrist against her body.

Felicity shut her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to contain the pain in her wrist, whilst biting her lip. She tasted blood and flinched.

_1… 2… 3…_

Felicity took in the sight of her kitchen; an upturned chair, a pool of milk on the stove where it had bubbled over, a smoking saucepan and dirty dishes from a week ago. She decided to give up on eating anything now- she had to be at work in less than four hours. Putting her hunger aside, she made her way to her bedroom, grabbed Pinkie- still somewhat damp from the rain- and got into bed.

She had never slept so deeply.


	4. he left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A big reveal for Felicity!

_‘Just follow your arrow_

_Wherever it points, yeah_

_Follow your arrow_

_Wherever it points-’_

Felicity blindly searched for her phone in the darkness of her room, Oliver’s ringtone blaring through the silence.

‘He-’

‘Felicity, are you okay?’ came Oliver’s quick reply, interrupting her before she could even get one word in.

‘What?’ she mumbled, still half asleep. ‘Oliver, what-’ she stopped to yawn ‘what’s going on?’

The Arrow chuckled, somewhat uneasily. ‘It’s noon, Felicity. Was just checking you’d made it home safe last night- technically you were due at work three hours ago, so I was just making sure you were okay.’

His voice sobered a little. ‘And to tell you that I’m so incredibly sorry for how I acted last night, Felicity. I was out of line, and I regret it with every part of me. In fact, I… Felicity?’

Felicity jumped a little and jolted awake again. ‘Oliver, I’m super tired right now, can I just meet you and Dig tonight at the foundry? Really don’t think I can be an executive assistant right now. Tired,-’ she stifled a yawn ‘I’ll see you later.’ She hung up and shut her eyes, trying to return to her peaceful dreams. There had been someone in her dreams, someone she couldn’t identify. A soft voice, a warm chest, a bottle to give to her, and strong arms for hugs.

 

Ever since she and Cooper had… stopped seeing each other, it was hard for Felicity to be little.

She didn’t like being little by herself, and even hotlines where Mommies and Daddies could talk to littles over the phone didn’t work for Felicity. She needed physical contact and someone who was willing to give her 24/7 care while she was feeling little. Felicity’s mother had always said that there was a caregiver out there who would be perfect for her daughter, but that they would be hard to find. While a tiny part of Felicity still hoped that there was someone out there for her, mostly she’d given up. Maybe one or two of her relationships had ended as badly the ‘Cooper situation’, but more often than not, after a few weeks, maybe a month or two, her caregiver would gently say;  _‘You’re a really sweet girl, Felicity, but I just can’t keep up with you/spare the time/be bothered.’_

She tried to not let it get to her, but she could feel it changing her, making her afraid to truly _let go_ with a caregiver. Felicity had a constant fear of letting people down, of being too clingy and annoying, of driving people away.

It was on this note that Felicity fell back asleep.

 

{ three hours later }

 

The clock read just after 3 pm, and Felicity was pretty sure that meant time to get up and get ready to leave. One look at the mess in the kitchen depressed the hell out of Felicity, and she decided to leave it until tomorrow. Being careful not to knock her wrist too much, as it still hurt from the night before, she showered, styled her hair and did her makeup. A cute dress (with sleeves long enough to cover her bruised wrist) and shoes that matched her coat completed the look.

 

She pulled up outside the foundry just as a distant clock struck four. Felicity steeled herself. She did not want to cry again, and she most definitely did _not_ want to fall into little space again. The main door was still locked- normal for a nightclub at four pm- so she walked around to the back, slipped inside the building, down the secret stairs, only to find Oliver comforting a very distressed Roy.

‘Oh my God, is he okay?” Felicity slowly approached the pair, not wanting to frighten him further.

Oliver rubbed circles into Roy’s back while the little tried to regain control of his breathing, huddled tightly in Oliver’s arms.

‘He’s gonna be fine. Thea’s just late to pick him up and he thinks-’

‘She’s not coming!’ Roy cried plaintively. ‘Mommy’s not coming!’

Oh, _frack_ , thought Felicity. She walked over to Roy and Oliver and gently touched Roy’s shoulder.

‘She’s gonna be here, Roy.’ Felicity started, surprised at how level her voice was. ‘Thea- Mommy- loves you, and she’ll be here soon.’

 

Oliver’s low voice rumbled; ‘And you know, Roy. Felicity is super smart. She knows everything, and she knows for sure that Mommy’s coming, okay?’

Oliver mouthed to Felicity over Roy’s head; _Check her phone- location._

Felicity nodded and headed over to the desk to track down Thea’s cell.

She held up a hand, with fingers outstretched. _Five minutes._ Oliver nodded.

 

‘Five more minutes, little man, then Mommy’s gonna be here. That sound good?’

Roy mumbled into Oliver’s chest.

‘I can’t hear you, Roy, what did-‘

‘How… How come you know?’ The little boy asked, his eyes red from crying.

Oliver looked over to Felicity, pride in his eyes.

‘Because, Felicity, who is super smart and knows everything, has tracked Mommy’s cell phone. She’ll be here soon, Roy.’ He picked up Roy in his arms and, sitting down, rocked him incredibly gently considering that the two were nearly the same height.

 

While it should’ve looked bizarre, Oliver Queen, the Arrow, rocking his little sidekick, to Felicity, it was beautiful. Roy, although currently in the midst of a _moment_ , was completely at ease with his little side. His thumb snaked into his mouth, and he leaned into Oliver’s chest. A perfect Daddy and a perfect little. The Arrow had obviously been taken by surprise by Roy, as he was wearing one sock, green leather pants and a shirt and tie- no shoes in sight.

But. Oliver’s attention was completely consumed by the crying little in his arms. He knew instructively to sway, but not too much, because Roy was still crying and having a little trouble breathing. He knew how to cradle him to his chest, what to say in his deep, soft voice.

Oliver knew that Roy was not his, but he treated him as such. Felicity saw the love in his eyes as he comforted his sister’s little, taking as much care as if Roy was his own.

The moment was perfect.

 

The moment was shattered by the arrival of a very flustered Thea running down the foundry steps. 

 

‘I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, baby boy-‘

‘Momma!’ Roy cried and stretched out his arms for Thea. ‘Mommy, Mommy! You came!’

Thea jumped the last three stairs and raced to hug her little.

‘Oh, my angel, I love you.’ The pair hugged like there was no one else there, Roy still sniffling a little and Thea whispering sweet nothings into his ear to comfort him.

Oliver rose abruptly and looked over to Felicity, who was busying herself with something. She didn’t need to see a heartfelt reunion between a little and caregiver, not if she wanted to stay out of little space for a while.

 

‘Ollie said you would come, Mommy, he was right!’ Roy giggled, his sadness fading.

‘Well, of course, he was right!’ Thea smiled. ‘Mommies and Daddies always come for their littles. Always, Roy!’

 

Felicity winced. Not always. Cooper hadn’t come back for her.

 

‘Anyways,’ Thea began. ‘We really should get going, honey. Cartoons and nuggets are waiting for you at home!’

Roy raced up the stairs, but Thea waited a moment to talk to her brother;

‘Thank you, Ollie. I’m so sorry about-‘

He touched a hand to her shoulder. ‘Don’t worry about it, I’m glad I could help.’

Thea smiled again. ‘You’re so good with Roy, you really should look for a little of your own, you know. I know you think it wouldn’t work with your job, but-‘

Oliver cut in sharply. ‘It wouldn’t, Thea. I’m always running off to be the Arrow, I’d be leaving a little to fend for themselves, alone, while I’m off saving someone else. Besides,’ He laughed. ‘Maybe I can be Starling City’s Daddy.’

Thea chucked but spoke again. ‘I’m serious, Ollie. Think about it.’

He gave her a smile. ‘Sure I will, Speedy.’ He glanced up the foundry steps, and laughed ‘I’ll see you later, Roy reeeally wants those nuggets.’

Felicity looked up at the same time as Thea, and nearly burst out laughing at Roy, sat glumly on the steps sucking his thumb. The attention of his Mommy energised him.

‘Mommy! Nuggets! Let’s go!’

The Queens laughed, and Thea chased after her little.

‘Bye, Felicity!’ she called from up the stairs.

‘Bye-‘ she called back as the door slammed shut. ‘-Thea.’

 

She smiled to herself and turned back to the computer while Oliver got changed into green leather. She was going to find the Count if it killed her, she had to make up for last night.

She jumped at the feel of a hand on her shoulder.

 

Oliver.

 

‘Felicity, we should probably talk about last night-’ he began gently.

She cut in. ‘No need. You already apologised on the phone.’

‘I’m pretty sure you were asleep for most of our conversation.’ She could _hear_ his smile, the way he pronounced each word, and a little flip up at the end of the phrase. Felicity turned around and took in his face- yes, a smile, but also contrite eyes and the body language of someone who feels guilty. His feet shuffled a little, he was somewhat hunched, and his eyes flickered as they met hers.

 

Felicity raised a hand to bite her fingernails but stopped herself before she bit down.

‘I… I’m really sorry about the Count, Oliver. It’s my fault that he got away, if I hadn’t gone into little space then he wouldn’t’ve gotten away…’

She moved backwards a little, subconsciously scared of the Dom.

Oliver closed the gap between them as he spoke;

‘Felicity, this is not at all about you. I mean, it is about _you_ , but it wasn’t you who… What I mean is, it’s-‘

‘I thought I was the one supposed to be speaking in sentence fragments?’ she joked weakly, but Oliver didn’t take the bait.

‘Felicity. I’m serious. I’m so sorry about last night, I never should have shouted at you like that, it was completely out of line.’

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. ‘Oliver, you didn’t know I was little, you didn’t mean to-’

 

Now it was Oliver who cut in.

‘No, whether you were little or not, it was completely out of order. And blaming you-’

He ran his hand across his face and sighed.

‘It is not your fault, Felicity. Never. You always do your best work here, you’re amazing, you know that? This isn’t your crusade, but you’re here anyway. We’re- I’m lucky to have you, and I shouldn’t forget that.’

He paused.

‘Did you at least get home okay? Have an okay evening?’

Felicity thought back to the previous evening- the wet clothes, the hurt wrist, never actually _eating_ anything-

‘I’m really hungry.’ she said. Then she blushed.

‘Sorry, I did have a good evening. It was all fine.’ _Just may have contracted a cold, broken my wrist and died of hunger._

Oliver smiled. ‘That’s good. I’m glad. Now, if you wanna eat, we could go pick up some takeout? Or I could go pick it up if you want to stay here.’

‘That’s okay, I can drive us. What are you in the mood for?’ She asked, reaching for her car keys from the desk.

Then Felicity gasped and saw white for a moment. She sat down, hard on the desk chair.

‘ _Frack!_ ’

 

Oliver immediately rushed around her.

‘What is it, what’s wrong?’

Felicity gritted her teeth and breathed through the pain.

‘It’s nothing, I… I just fell and hit my wrist on the way in, it just _really_ hurts, _god_ -‘

Oliver gently pulled up her sleeve to see her wrist, which was a deep purple colour from bruising.

‘Felicity, you can’t have just done that, it would never bruise up that fast, you must have done it yesterday, what-’ He paused.

‘Was it Cooper, that son of a bitch, I never liked that slimy-’

Felicity held up her other hand to stop Oliver.

‘No, Oliver, it wasn’t Cooper, I fell and I put out my wrist to stop me from falling.’

Oliver crouched down and took her good hand in his.

‘Felicity, you don’t have to protect him, if he’s hurting you, or-‘

She laughed- or at least tried to. It was more like a sob.

‘Cooper’s not hurting me, Oliver. Not doing anything to me, anymore at least.’

She took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from crying, because, _god, this was stupid and embarrassing, and-_

‘We broke up.’ She mused. ‘Five weeks and two days ago, actually.’

 

The Arrow is never flustered But even Felicity felt the heartbeat pause before Oliver spoke again.

‘What?’ he asked, confused.

Felicity moved her hand, wrapping her arms around herself.

‘Me and Coop. _Cooper_. We broke up over a month ago.’

Oliver’s eyes held emotions Felicity had seen before, but never like this. Worry. Anger. Vengeance. Sadness. A smidgeon of pity.

‘Why didn’t you tell me or Dig?’ he asked, his voice so gentle that Felicity could only just hear it.

She sniffed. ‘I don’t know, it all just seems so stupid. And, god, it was just _humiliating_ , I don’t even know-‘

Oliver’s ears pricked. ‘Felicity, what happened? Did he do something, or-?’

‘He didn’t do anything to start with, that was the problem. It was like- He…’ She hid her face in her hand.

‘It just wasn’t working. I was being too… Demanding and annoying and-‘

 

‘Stop.’

 

Oliver’s voice was full of anger. Felicity blanched, her face still hidden.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to just blurt everything out-‘

 

‘Stop.’

 

He took deep breaths and walked away from Felicity.

She trembled a little, hating seeming so spineless, but feeling scared of this _extremely_ angry man who could very possibly break her into tiny pieces if he so wanted.

Eventually, he walked back to her, his eyes blazing.

 

‘Felicity, he is wrong. So wrong. You are sweet, funny, beautiful-‘ She blushed and looked away.

‘Don’t blush, Smoak,’ he chuckled. ‘You know it’s true, and you know I’ve always thought so.’

Oliver rubbed her arms soothingly.

‘Never let what Cooper said get to you. He’s only one guy. And a disgusting piece-of-horse-shit kind of guy, too.’

He stood up and pulled on his hood.

 

‘I think I need to go and see Cooper.’

He marched towards the door with purpose, before Felicity stood in his way.

 

‘Excuse me?’ she said.

He looked uncertain- a rare thing for Oliver Queen.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘I don’t need you to and find Cooper.’ she said firmly- or at least firmly for someone with a possible broken wrist.

‘I don’t need you to fight this one for me. It’s already finished.’

Oliver moved closer to her, they weren’t far away from being nose-to-nose.

‘Felicity-‘

‘He’s already probably with someone else.’ She said flatly. ‘Don’t drag this all up again.’

Oliver’s eyes were angry. ‘Drag it up? Felicity, you were together for _eight months_! And even if you were together for eight days, no one gets to treat you like that, okay?’ His voice lowered and became somewhat more intimate.

‘You are not annoying, nor too demanding, or anything but a good person and perfect little. And anyone who says otherwise should answer to me.’

Suddenly, the foundry door opened, and Dig walked down the stairs.

‘What did I miss, guys?’

 

Felicity took a shaking breath.

‘Oliver, please. This is me asking you not to do this’

He took her good hand in his and kissed it lightly.

‘I have to do this, Felicity.’

 

He left.


	5. storytime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How young do you guys think Felicity should be when she's little? Ideas!

Do not cry. Felicity told herself.

Her nose burned with tears as Dig approached her, letting Oliver pass him and go up the stairs.

‘For god’s sake, Oliver, you can’t just-’ She shouted, but the door slammed on Felicity for the second time that day. Surprising even herself, she let out an angry scream and kicked a trashcan that went flying away.

 

‘Hey, hey, honey, what happened?’ Dig asked, his voice warm and full of concern.

She ran a trembling hand over her face and sighed.

‘It was… Oliver, he… He’s going to break Cooper.’ Felicity paused. ‘Into one hundred tiny pieces.’

‘What? Why!?’

She laughed hollowly, and sat down on the table. Felicity held out her hand to John.

‘Because I fell and broke my wrist.’

 

***

 

John gathered a syringe, a bottle of lidocaine, and some bandages. The X-ray machine was pulled out of a hidden cupboard- Felicity had known it would be a good investment, but never envisioned John using it on her. With skilled hands, he filled the needle and numbed Felicity’s hand.

‘A fracture, just a small one here.’ Diggle said, pointing to a thin black line running through Felicity’s bone.

‘It doesn’t feel small.’

He arranged her hand to lie flat, and expertly splinted it with bandages.

‘Please don’t make me wear a sling, Dig.’ She joked, a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

He tied the last knot, and smoothed down the bandages gently.

‘No need for one- if you take it easy. Try not to move it too much.’

John paused, trying to find the right words.

‘Do you want to tell me about what happened?’ he said carefully.

‘Not really.’ Felicity said, wrapping her arms around herself and hopping off of the examination table.

‘Oliver already dragged it out of me, I’d really rather not go through it all again tonight.’

John nodded and murmured a low ‘ _mhmm_ ’.

‘I just have two questions, Felicity.’

She nodded her acquiescence.

‘Did Cooper hurt you?’

Sighing, Felicity tried to puzzle out an answer. Sure, he had _hurt_ her, but was that what John meant? Did he mean in a slap-across-the-cheek way, a covering-your-bruises-with-makeup kind of way.

‘He was cruel, and unkind. He was never violent. But one time, the last time, he was… rough.’

John nodded, only his clenched fist indicative of his anger.

‘That how you got that fracture?’ he pointed to her splint.

‘No, I really did fall and hurt myself.’

‘And-‘

Felicity smiled.

‘You said two questions.’

John gave a smile. ‘Wasn’t planning on asking that second one, it just came out.’

He moved imperceptibly closer to Felicity, and spoke.

‘Are you okay, Felicity?’

She nodded, and moved in for a hug, because what the _frack_ , there was a perfectly lovely person in front of her who _definitely_ gave good hugs.

‘I will be.’

 

John’s arms were warm, and Felicity was incredibly glad she’d gone in for a hug. He seemed to like it too, and they stayed together for quite some time.

 

‘So that’s why Oliver’s gone to break Cooper into one hundred tiny pieces, huh?’

Though somewhat muffled due to being pressed against Dig’s chest, Felicity answered.

‘Uh-huh. Can’t say I’m too sad about it, for Cooper’s sake, but I really just wanted to let it all die down.’ She sniffled a little. ‘It’s really not fun.’

‘Well, I’m not gonna lie,’ John admitted. ‘If I’d found out first, instead of Oliver, I’d be on my way over there right now, too. No one’s ever gonna hurt you like that again, Felicity. I promise.’

‘Please don’t make promises you can’t keep, John. This has happened before, it’ll happen again.’

Diggle tensed, and let go of Felicity so he could see her face.

‘What? This has happened before?’

_Frack._

‘Not exactly… But the general idea, yes.’ She flushed pink. Having a conversation with someone about how all of your previous relationships have crashed and burned is never fun, and nearly always embarrassing.

‘It’s just that… My past caregivers, well… It’s never really worked out.’

‘Why?’

Laughing nervously, she replied.

‘Kind of personal question there, John.’

Dig smiled and looked away.

‘You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, Felicity. I was just wondering, whenever I’ve seen you little, you’re… sweet, adorable. Perfect.’

‘Yeah, well. You’ve never seen me for longer than twenty minutes.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘I’m just…’ She threw her hands in the air. ‘I can’t explain it. I’m annoying, and clingy, and inconvenient.’

John’s eyes blazed with fury, but his voice remained calm. ‘You’re right. You can’t explain it. Because the little Felicity I know is none of those things.’

He spoke more quietly.

‘Cooper told you were… those things?’ He couldn’t bear to repeat what Felicity had said.

 _Cooper and all the others_ , thought Felicity.

‘He’s right, okay? I can’t just be little, and chill out. I always go overboard, I can’t rein myself in at all, and-‘

 

John wrapped Felicity in another hug.

‘Please, _please_ , stop, Felicity. Whatever you do when you’re little, whether you wear diapers or watch cartoons or play video games, you should feel free to be whoever you want to be. If Cooper can’t appreciate little you, then that’s his loss. You are perfect just as you are, don’t think that you’re not.’

Felicity sniffled again.

‘Thank you, John. That means a lot.’ She pressed her head against his chest and felt her little pushing to come out.

 

She firmly pushed the urge back down. The moment did _not_ need to be ruined right now.

‘What do you think Oliver’s gonna do?’ Felicity whispered.

Diggle chuckled. ‘I have no idea. Give him a scare, probably. But he should be careful- The Arrow doesn’t have personal vendettas. We don’t want anyone figuring out his identity.’

‘I wish he hadn’t gone. I don’t want him to do something he’ll regret, not for me-’

 

The pair sprung apart as the foundry door swung open, John standing in front of Felicity protectively. Lowering his pistol as he saw Oliver walk inside, John moved towards Oliver, but was beaten by Felicity, who marched over.

 

‘Just what did you think you were doing?’ She said slowly and forcefully. ‘I do not need a knight in green leather to go and fight Cooper for me!’

Oliver tried to break in, but she held up a hand.

‘I’ve had my revenge. I made several- quite sizeable- donations to major charities for littles from his bank account. I got him fired from his job. I hacked all his computers and destroyed them from the inside out. I’m done with him. And now-‘ she walked up to him, fire in her eyes.

‘And now, you go to his house, bow in hand, arrow in bow, to do _what_ , exactly?’

 

Oliver looked guilty.

‘Felicity, I’m sorry-’

‘What. Did. You. Do.’ She enunciated carefully.

‘Nothing.’ Dig said, his voice calm. ‘I can see it in you. You didn’t do anything, did you?’

Felicity looked at Oliver, who nodded slightly.

‘Oh. Well, then…’ she said, somewhat lost for words.

‘Where did you go?’

‘Cooper’s place. I watched him for almost thirty minutes. He was eating pizza with some buddies.’

‘That’s why you didn’t do anything? Because he was alone?’

Oliver laughed hollowly. ‘Felicity, he could’ve been surrounded by one hundred mirakuru soldiers and I still would’ve run inside to kill him. It was because I realised I was an idiot.’

Quirking an eyebrow, she spoke. ‘I like this train of realisation- of course, we’ve all known that for years- but carry on.’

‘I realised I was an idiot. I’d left you by yourself, upset, to go chase something that wasn’t even _yours_.’

Felicity blinked. ‘Excuse me? How is this… thing _not mine?_ ’

Oliver shifted his gaze to the floor.

‘The first feeling I had when you told me about what happened, with you and Cooper- apart from wanting to hold you and never let you go- was guilt. That I hadn’t seen that you were alone, that you were hurting. I felt like a…’ he paused. ‘I felt like a bad Daddy.’

 

Felicity took a step back, confused.

‘Oliver, you’re not, not my…’

‘I know.’ he said quickly. ‘I know. It’s just that- that it’s hard to not want to feel needed, useful to someone. I saw a little who was hurting, and reacted completely on instinct, wanting to hurt whoever had hurt you.’ He finally met Felicity’s bright eyes, and moved closer to her.

‘I made this about myself, I’m sorry. I just needed to-’

‘Be needed. I get that.’ Felicity blushed. ‘I’m glad you didn’t break Cooper into one hundred tiny pieces.’

Oliver laughed again, this time more heartily.

‘Oh, believe me. I still want to. But you’re more important that him.’

Oliver didn’t notice how Felicity breathed in sharply at his words.

 

‘How’s your wrist?’ he asked. Felicity held up her splint, turning her arm a little so he got the full view.

‘Dig’s army medic skills prove to be invaluable as ever. That and lidocaine shots.’

Diggle smiled at Felicity. ‘Anytime. Just not all the time, please.’

‘Not planning to make a habit of it. It was no fun the first time.’

‘How did you do it?’ Asked Oliver.

‘So, um, it kind of happened, like…’ Felicity didn't really want to tell the full story, she came off _terribly_ in it, as did Oliver.

‘I was reaching for something off a high shelf, and I fell. It was either a fractured wrist or a cracked skull.’ She shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant.

‘Why didn’t you go to the hospital? Or call someone?’

‘Because-’

‘You were still feeling little.’ Dig said.

There was an awkward silence.

 

Oliver spoke first.

‘Felicity, even if you were scared because you were little, you could’ve called me or Dig. Anytime.’

‘Anything you need. Even if it’s the middle of the night.’ John agreed.

Felicity could feel her panic rising inside.

‘I… I don’t like being little in front of people.’ she stammered.

Oliver and Diggle looked confused, and sad.

‘Felicity, we’re not just people. We’re Team Arrow- that means we’ve got each other’s backs-’

‘ _How many times have I told you not to call us Team Arrow, Dig._ ’

‘-Even if you’re embarrassed. I mean,’ he smiled. ‘we’re both Daddies. It’s nothing we haven’t both seen before.’

Felicity blushed. ‘I know. It’s just, you know.’

They nodded even though they didn’t really know what they apparently should know. They settled into a silence.

 

Felicity felt awkward.

‘Anyone want food?’ she said, trying to break the tension.

 _Frack_ , she had to think of new ways to change the subject. She just looked like she thought about food all the time.

‘Starving.’

‘Ravenous.’

‘Unfortunately, in my professional opinion-’ John winked ‘I don’t think you should eat for at least six hours after a lidocaine shot.’

Oliver smirked, knowing full well that Diggle was full of crap.

‘But I want ice cream.’ Felicity said seriously.

Diggle made a _hmmm_ sound, and turned to Oliver.

‘What do you think, Arrow. Do we allow it this time?’

Oliver’s smile was infectious, and as he turned to Felicity their faces grinned.

‘I think she’ll survive some mint chip, Dig. Just this once.’


End file.
